'Resident Alien' Drama Picked Up to Pilot at Syfy

After axingThe Expanse, Syfy is looking to explore a different kind of space drama.

The NBCUniversal-owned cable network has handed out a pilot order for an adaptation of Dark Horse comic Resident Alien.

Like Peter Hogan and Steve Parkhouse's comic series, the Syfy drama is a dark, twisted and comedic fish-out-of-water story that follows a crash-landed alien named Harry, who, after taking on the identity of a small-town Colorado doctor, slowly begins to wrestle with the moral dilemma of his secret mission on Earth — ultimately asking the question "Are human beings worth saving?"

The drama, which is the first picked up to pilot from Syfy's 2018 development slate, will be adapted for the small screen by Chris Sheridan (Family Guy). Sheridan will exec produce alongside Dark Horse Entertainment president Mike Richardson (The Mask) and senior vp production Keith Goldberg (The Legend of Tarzan) and Amblin's Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank (The Americans).

Resident Alien hails from Universal Cable Productions, where Dark Horse has long had an overall deal. The agreement extends Dark Horse and UCP's relationship following Netflix's take on Umbrella Academy,which the streaming giant ordered straight to series.

Resident Alien marks the latest comic-to-TV drama in the works at Syfy. The cable network recently picked up Deadly Class,based on the Image Comics title, and has Christopher Meloni vehicle Happy (also based on an Image title) and Superman prequel Krypton (based on characters from DC Comics). Should Resident Alien move to series, it would join a scripted roster at Syfy that also includes Nightflyers, The Magicians, Channel Zero, Killjoys, 12 Monkeys, Wynonna Earp, Z Nation and Van Helsing. Syfy also has high-profile projects in development, including Brave New World, The Raven Cycle and Hyperion.